Mainers Squander Lead Late in Walk-Off Loss
July 13, 2023 - New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL)
Sanford Mainers News Release
Sanford Mainers' Jack Mullen on game night
(Sanford Mainers, Credit: Madison Giltner Photography)
HOLYOKE, Mass. - Baseball has a way to give, and it has a way to take away.
Despite every hitter in the Sanford Mainers starting lineup registering a hit, each of the nine also recorded a strikeout as the Mainers fell victim to a late rally finished off by a Valley Blue Sox walk-off on Thursday night.
The Mainers got runners from the very start as Nick Roselli (Binghamton) recorded a leadoff single to kick start the offense. That offense went on to record a hit, 11 in total, in every inning until it mattered most in the ninth and tenth innings.
Matt Miceli (Stony Brook) got the green and yellow the first lead of the game after a walk by Devin Russell (Maryland) and a single by Jack Toomey (Holy Cross) set up Miceli with two-out and two runners on in inning number two.
Miceli knocked both runners in with a double into the left-center field gap to put the Mainers ahead 2-0, a score that stayed that way until the fifth.
In the visitors' portion of the fifth, Cal Hewett (Vanderbilt) drew a leadoff walk before aggressive base running found him on third base for Russell. With two outs already in the inning, Russell delivered a bloop single into center field that proved enough for his sixth RBI of the summer.
Jack Mullen (Bowdoin) had the starting duties for Sanford and after four scoreless innings on the bump, he gave that run right back in the bottom of the fifth.
Two infield singles by Jeff Pierantoni (Yale) and E.J. Kreutzmann (Columbia), each of which stole second base in the at-bat directly following their respective singles, set up Mason Wolf (Monmouth) with two runners in scoring position.
Wolf, who spent the beginning of the summer with the Mainers, sent a ball into left field that got the job done to score Pierantoni for the first Valley run of the game.
An inning later, the second-year righty for the Mainers was removed after loading the bases with one out. The Maine native turned things over to a fellow returner to Sanford in Zack Given (UMass Amherst).
Given got an out against the first batter he saw in Pierantoni before allowing an RBI single to Collier Cranford (Kansas). With the bases still loaded after the single, which cut the lead to 3-2, Given bounced back with the third out of the inning that came in the form of a chopper back to the mound.
That score stood until the bottom of the ninth when Jake Poindexter (Lipscomb) entered the game. After drawing a routine double play following a leadoff walk, the righty ran into trouble with two outs as he issued a walk to Will Gale (Seton Hall) and allowed a single to Kreutzmann.
With runners on the corners, Kreutzmann took off for second base, which drew the throw from Russell behind the plate. The throw was in time, but the Blue Sox right fielder put himself into a pickle and gave time for Gale to take off for the plate.
Gale slid into home plate just ahead of the throw from Miceli at shortstop as Valley tied up the game. Poindexter hit the next batter with a pitch but escaped further trouble to send the game to extra-innings.
Eddie Eisert (Virginia Tech) was awarded second base as the extra-inning runner, but the Mainers went down in 1-2-3 order, stranding him where he started.
Two of those outs in the 10th were strikeouts as Sanford's total for the game reached a season-high, for both them as well as the NECBL, of 18.
Nick Callano (Salve Regina) started that strikeout total with six over his four-inning start before Leo Harris (Alabama Birmingham), Terry Murray (Rhode Island College) and Zach Cameron (Niagara) combined to strike out 12 Moose batters out of the bullpen.
In the bottom of the tenth, Michael Simes (UMass Lowell) loaded the bases with help from the automatic runner rule. A bloop that fell into right field just out of the outstretched glove of Miceli turned into a fielder's choice as Miceli recovered to get the force play at home plate for the first out.
Wolf, who had struck out with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth with the Blue Sox trailing by four in the second meeting of the season between these two, came to the plate with a chance to make up for the previous meeting between the two sides.
He grounded a ball to short, but a wild hop allowed the winning run in Pierantoni to score as Wolf reached on what was ruled a fielder's choice.
Sanford will look to keep themselves afloat among the race for the North Division title when they head to Upper Valley tomorrow evening.
Images from this story
 Sanford Mainers' Jack Mullen on game night (Madison Giltner Photography) |
New England Collegiate Baseball League Stories from July 13, 2023
- Mainers Squander Lead Late in Walk-Off Loss - Sanford Mainers
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